Special Friends and Old Times

Had a chance on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week to reconnect with some friends we don't get to see very often. The Mahnkens of Iowa were passing through St. Chuck on their way home from a family trip. Chris and I were roomies way back in the early 70's at Seward. Her youngest daughter is our godchild and we usually only see one another once a year. So it was fun to relax, talk into the wee hours of the evening and just plain catch up on all that's been going on for us. It's not often you have someone in your life who knew you back in high school... yes, Chris and I really go all the way back to Lutheran High West in Detroit... class of '73.... yikes! That's only 34 years ago now!!!! Okay... I am stopping while I still feel young enough to write this.
Mahnken family: (l-r) Chris & Merle, Sarah & Hannah


Chris and I - I don't think we've changed TOO much!!!


The girls... Sarah on the left (going to be a Junior this year) and Hannah, headed for the 8th grade!

Hot weather in the Heartland!

Had another very hot day here in St. Chuck... temps well into the 90's again for about the 4th or 5th straight day. So of course, we worked out at the vineyard, building a loft in our little barn. Must say it makes the barn MUCH more organized and tidy, but Ed must've lost about 10 lbs. just working in that heat!

So we leaped into the pool on our arrival home...and are going to have an in home "movie night" and sit in the A/C to our hearts' content!




More Door County pics to share.... enjoy...

Happy Birthday America

The 4th of July! What is it about this day that makes us all kick back, relax, and be hugely proud of our country? I can honestly say I've never had a "stressful" July 4th; not something one can say about a lot of other holidays on the calendar! Maybe it's the fact that this day doesn't demand that we shop, mail cards, go to church, or ANYTHING except maybe put out a great barbecue, swim, see a local fireworks display, and enjoy time with friends! In any case... here's to you, America! Happy Birthday!

To the Door and Back Again

We just arrived home last night from a week in one of the most gorgeous places in America.... Door County. For about 13 summers now we've spent at least one week in the Door Peninsula. It's a place where we all sort of "rediscover" ourselves, and we always return home refreshed and ready to tackle another year of work and life. This summer we were there from the 23rd through the 30th... so for the next few posts I'll have to share some photos and some "Door Time" with all of you!

The UK - Part III

Here are some more of my shots from the trip.. this time all from Ireland.

1. This first one is one of my favorites... boats lined up along an inlet just below Ross Castle. I may make an enlargement of this one and frame it.


2. A shot of Ed and I in a little seaside town on the Ring of Kerry with the North Sea as a backdrop. All the shots of the two of us were shot by semi-camera illiterates on the trip... so many are either, a. dark, b. grainy, c. shot from too far away... etc. sigh... can't have everything! We did get some very nice shots of each other individually.... This one was nice, but again shot from too far away to enlarge it well.


3. The three girls and I at Ladies View overlooking the ocean. We look severely windblown, because we're so high up that the wind is always blowing here. But it was fun. The girls were a blast to travel with and we had such a good time!


4. The total Irish scenic package, cows in the foreground, oceans with islands in the background... and green beauty everywhere else in between! Beautiful!


5. A shot of me up at Ladies View, so named because Queen Victoria used to travel here with her entire entourage of ladies-in-waiting to admire the vistas. She was smart and supposedly LOVED natural beauty... since it couldn't have been too easy to get to this spot in the 1860's either!

UK trip - Part II

As I said yesterday... a few photos each day will tell all about our trip.
(top to bottom; remember, you can click on each one to see it larger... and use the back arrow to revert to the blog)

1. The cottage of Anne Hathaway (Shakespeare's wife) was getting a re-thatching job on the rooftop. It was quite interesting to see that in progress as well as to tour the house.

2. Slowly, yet ever so slowly, I climbed a 700+ ft. mountain. It had a ruins of an ancient Welsh fort, Dinas Bran, at the top and overlooked an entire valley below. You can see some of our hiking group still working their way toward the summit in the photo. You zigged and zagged your way stopping to soak up the scenery and catch your breath. We stayed in the tiny town below of Llangollen, Wales... at a 400+ yr. old coaching inn. Very cool!

3. This is us at the top of Dinas Bran in Wales.

4. Me on the ramparts of Beaumaris Castle in Northwest Wales. We caught the ferry from Holyhead just a few minutes from this castle to get over to Ireland. Beaumaris is huge and quite interesting. However, once you see it, you never fantasize about living in Medieval times again! The rooms were dank and small and the floors were an uneven stone mess! You could imagine those poor medieval ladies busting their hips from falls at every turn! I also can't imagine trying to lay siege to this place and hoping to win!

5. Yes, another castle... this one is Ross Castle not too far from present day Killarney, Ireland. It sits on an island in the middle of a lake. It was the last castle the Oliver Cromwell destroyed near the tail end of his 'reign of terror'. It seemed so desolate and yet so beautiful all at the same time... this is one of my favorite shots from the trip.

More tomorrow!

England, Wales and Ireland... our big adventure for this summer!

This summer's adventure was touring England, Wales, and Ireland with a wonderful trio of our students from LHS. We left the states on June 4th and returned around 8pm last night (the 12th) The weather was cool and mostly dry. The sights were amazing both in cities and the countryside. We saw at least half a dozen different castles, each one unique in it's own right. We mingled with locals in towns and at the hotels which made it all so much more interesting and educational. For the next few days I'll be posting some of our adventures.

Today's post includes: (top going down) Myself and the three girls... Sarah, Sarah, and Kaylee, at Trafalgar Square in London.

Next, the red phone booth pose which everyone who comes to London has to make.

Third down is a guest arriving at Buckingham Palace to visit the Queen while we were wating for her guards to change.

Fourth is a lovely Cornish Cream Tea that we had outside Windsor Castle.


And finally, the last shot is of Ed and I near the central courtyard of Windsor. The palace is the oldest continuously inhabited Castle in the world and dates back to the Norman Conquest. It's pretty amazing! It's where the Queen prefers to spend her time if she's not at Buckingham in London or at Balmoral in Scotland.

My Two Favorite "Fish"

Summertime means Pool time! The boys came to visit this weekend and both of them LOVE the pool. Asher was pretty brave for being only one and a half. He laughed at the antics of big brother Gabe who was jumping and splashing enough for two! Then he got brave enough to do some serious splashing of his own. Pool time is some of the BEST fun two boys can have with water!

School's OUT for Summer!

These two photos say it all.... bring on SUMMER, my favorite season of the year!

Mother's Day Weekend and All that Good Stuff

Today was Mother's Day, and I am totally spoiled! We met Gret and Leon for late church and then scooted out to their place afterwards for Brunch. Gret made this incredible spread which started with fruit salad, blueberry scones, and a yummy strawberry drink called a "Bellinni". Then out came a Salmon Asparagus Quiche and Roasted Bacon-wrapped asparagus on the side. What a meal!

We chatted and talked and admired the gardens for about 3 hours... then we came home and worked around the yard. I puttered with the pool getting it set for summer while Ed trimmed and turned over the herb garden.

A little after 5, Katrina and family called and we talked for about 20 minutes. I got to chat with Gabe and hear about his weekend as well. So all in all, it was a perfect day.

A Dark Day in Star's Hollow

Just got the news today that my favorite television show, "Gilmore Girls", is being cancelled for next season. For the past 7 years, Tuesday has been Gilmore Night. Ed and I watch it and even tape it when we're not home to watch it. The worst thing is that the show has just 2 episodes to close out its plotlines on May 15th. Most fans, myself included, don't see that they'll be able to bring it to a satisfactory end in that amount of air time. Bummer!

Now all I"ll have left to watch is ER.... sigh....

My Latest Hero

Her name is Nola Ochs.... and she inspires me! In just 2 weeks she will be the oldest college graduate in the world. She's 95 and goes to school at Fort Hays State University in Kansas. She's a history major! I think she rocks! When asked what she'd do next, she said "Take more classes... A learning situation makes me happy!" I not only admire this lady... someday I'd love to BE her!
Atta girl, Nola! May you study till you're 100+!!!!

Good News from the VInes!

This weekend found us out at the vineyard again... a bit of a slow month but we've accomplished a lot out there. FIrst we got the sign up along the road. This weekend we did some planting around the place outside. Put in 33 new baby vines; and to our great relief, we saw REBLOOMING going on in the vines that suffered the Easter freeze. Those 4 days of icy cold should have eliminated our crop for this fall entirely... but the vines had a different idea! They are full of new leaves and (huge surprise) baby bunches are showing! This is a wonderful and unexpected surprise! I spent a little time practicing my product photos, so I've posted a few here! Cheers!

A Perfect Ending to my Break - "Miss Potter"

Tonight we went to see "Miss Potter" starring Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor, and it made a PERFECT ending to our Spring break. The movie follows very closely the life of Beatrix Potter, author of the Peter Rabbit books and is filmed in some of the most beautiful parts of England, the Lake District. The movie made us laugh and also made us cry. It was a sweet and lovely film with surprising bits of whimsy to it. When I got home, I had to pop right online to see how much of it was based on truth and was delighted to find that it was virtually ALL exactly as it happened! (rare in screenplay!) Looking for a good film? Go see this one! I will be buying it as soon as it's released on DVD.

Our Latest "Project" - Stage One

For awhile now, we've been feeling the urge to do something with our rather dated and tired looking kitchen. After pricing various options (and recovering from the sticker shock involved) we recently decided there was a LOT we could do ourselves. After all, we built the entire apartment out at the winery, and while we aren't exactly ready to go on "This Old House", we felt pretty competent to do a lot of the work ourselves. So we've broken the project into "stages". Stage ONE is the cabinetry. We didn't want to buy new ones which were not as of a high quality wood as our old ones... so we decided to refinish our cabinets and change all the hardware. Ed has been sanding and stripping them down and discovered some really beautiful wood under that old reddish finish. The old copper strap hinges are gone as are the worn copper door pulls and in their place are some lovely new shiny nickel plated ones. Also added was some much needed undercabinet counter spot lighting. The result - a VERY new looking and MUCH brighter kitchen! STAGE ONE is a SUCCESS! The next stage... new flooring! Stay tuned as we rip up parquet wood, old vinyl and carpet and run slate from the dining room clear through to the sunroom! Oh, and don't call "Hometime" or "This Old House" - if it doesn't go well... we'll call Ty at "Extreme Home Makeover" ourselves!

Easter Fun

Spent a relaxing and quiet Easter this year at the home of our kids. Gretchen and Leon have a new dining room that needed official "breaking in" for a holiday... so the four of us did dinner over there. This was preceded by a beautiful service at Immanuel, complete with choirs and orchestra and absolutely gorgeous music and messages. Perhaps the funniest moment of the morning came when Leon was almost mugged by an overly enthusiastic bunch of youngsters during his "kids sermon" - let's just say they had obviously been into their Easter basket candy before they got to church!

So we relaxed and ate a marvelous dinner that consisted of rack of lamb, roasted asparagus, and new potatoes... there was even coconut cake for dessert! YUMMY! Leon gave me some pointers in PS3... well, as much as I can be taught anyway. The Lions lost to the Broncos in PS3 Madden football. (I will forever maintain that the altitude in Denver got to my team!) Bailey got lots of snuggles and play time too. All in all, a really nice day!

Two Days ~ Two Concerts

Quite a weekend for us, musically speaking... Saturday night we were given the chance to see Harry Connick live at the Fox. Our kids got us 12th row tickets as a combined birthday gift... how's that for totally cool kids??? Anyway, Harry is traveling on his New Orleans tour with a 12 piece band almost entirely of musicians based in that city's musical roots. So it was a totally awesome concert. Very high energy, very fun!

Then today at Immanuel we had two opportunities to hear the group Fusebox. This band will be the praise band at the National Youth Gathering this summer. Led by singer/songwriter Billy Buchanan, these guys led worship with acoustic sounds in the fellowship hall this morning and then rocked the place with an evening concert. He has written a new song called "Child of God" as a theme song for the Gathering! It is a great song and one that you can't help humming for a long time after you hear it. Check them out on iTunes... both of their albums are available there!

Life Lessons in the Vineyard

It's that season, again. The time when we go into the vineyard and cut out the old to make way for the new. It's always a strange sort of time for me. Not only do we connect individually with each of our 1200 vines, but we cut away much of what it took each vine an entire year to grow. The first time we trimmed, it felt scary. Would the vine come back? Would we cut it the right way? All that runs through your mind and more.

And every year, that bit about vines in John 15 comes bouncing into my brain. "I am the vine, you are the branches.... apart from me, you can do nothing!" (it doesn't hurt that it was also my confirmation verse!) So I think, here go the branches from last year... or at least most of them.. all that is left is 8-10 buds on only about 4 branches. The vine does it all... and each year the branches regrow.. some as much as 20-30 feet!!! It's pretty amazing that they even grow, and then they produce 30-40 lbs of grapes per vine! It's mind blowing, really! And I think about God's "pruning" in my life.. showing me what's essential and needful, and what is not. (I told you, it gets deep!)

A dear friend of ours lost his wife to leukemia this week. Lost is a bad word... the disease appeared to have won.. but she really did the winning. He's hurting right now... feeling very alone and lost... but he's giving witness to others and even though this is probably the worst "pruning" he's ever undergone; we can see his faith in what God has in mind for his life shining through. We know more growth is coming, and we absolutely know his wife is even now alive and rejoicing in the fruits of her faith with her Savior. What a marvelous thing that is! Pain with gain... weird and wonderful!

Every year, every moment, there's new lessons to be learned. The power is all in the connection to the vine!


Ed at work.

Vines before the trimming.

Each one, tended carefully....

Vines after the trimming

Walking the vineyard at dusk.
Keep growing, friends!

3 Strange Films

Watched three very odd films this weekend... all garnered from the $5.50 bin at the Warrenton Walmart. We were out there to do the trimming throughout the weekend and wanted something entertaining to watch. Picked up "Sideways" (totally because Josh Salzberg, a former student of ours, is working for the director of that film), "The Good Girl", and "Anger Management". All three had interesting moments, but none of them was a "winner" in the truest sense of the term. The most bizarre had to be "The Good Girl" largely because of its ending. Wondered what the weirdes movies any of you have found yourselves watching lately.

By the way, all the grapes are ready for spring with the sole exception of a few remaining rows of Nortons... but they bud slower so we feel like we're ahead of the game right now! YEAH!

We have a winner! and ADDITIONS!

My loving daughter Katrina, mother to the miner in the photo two entries ago, has graciously provided me with a new #8...plus four addendums to the list... can you all tell she lives with "little people"?

Things a toddler can do and be adorable that a grown-up cannot:

1. Walk around with his finger in his nose.
2. Run around wearing only a diaper... or less!
3. Mush his hands into a birthday cake and still have everyone be willing to share a slice.
4. Spit food he doesn't like into his mother's hand.
5. Talk to people sitting in the pew behind him during the sermon... and get smiled at!
6. Fall asleep in church.
7. Say "hi" to totally unknown men and women in supermarkets or other public places without having anyone cast suspicious glances his way.
8. When angry, drop to the floor screaming, and start spinning in circles.
9. Crawl under the kitchen table and sit there playing.
10. Splash as much as he cares to in the bathtub.
and the new additions!!!! (drum roll, please...)
11. scream at the top of your lungs,"ME, ME, ME!!" whenever you want food
12. Fall asleep on a woman's chest while sucking your thumb in a public place.
13. drool
14, Say "wee wee!" excitedly ... moments before grabbing the aforementioned body part.

I need a new #8

One of my readers (a college student) pointed out to me that naps are totally legal in the world of young college adults... (please somebody tell MY BOSS that those are good for 50-something English teachers as well!

Anyway... so the list needs a new #8.... hmmm any ideas for more?

A New list for Spring

This somewhat crass but totally endearing photo of my grandson was sent to me by his mother. It was taken by his daddy, who is also a professional photographer... so besides being evidence of the kinds of things a poor grandma gets in her email... it also sparked some thought.

I posted the photo on my school screensaver and have had an interesting time watching the reactions of various people as they've noticed it. Young high school aged men invariably crack up laughing when they see it and then say something like, "Cool photo!". The young ladies generally do something different... like smiling benignly and saying... "Oh, is that your grandson?.... Cute....." (like I'd have just any little kid on my computer with his finger up his nose!)

Thus was born the thought that there must be plenty of things that little tykes can do that us bigger tykes cannot do and still be considered "cool" or "cute"..... I will start said list here... and see how it goes:

Things a toddler can do and be adorable that a grown-up cannot:

1. Walk around with his finger in his nose.
2. Run around wearing only a diaper... or less!
3. Mush his hands into a birthday cake and still have everyone be willing to share a slice.
4. Spit food he doesn't like into his mother's hand.
5. Talk to people sitting in the pew behind him during the sermon... and get smiled at!
6. Fall asleep in church.
7. Say "hi" to totally unknown men and women in supermarkets or other public places without having anyone cast suspicious glances his way.
8. Take a nap in the middle of the day.
9. Crawl under the kitchen table and sit there playing.
10. Splash as much as he cares to in the bathtub.

I will accept suggestions for added items... I know there are a lot more!